Airlines diverted the flight paths of their planes away from Ukrainian airspace following reports about Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 being shot down near the Russian border.

Most European planes flying to Southeast Asia usually take the route that the Malaysian jet took on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, according to the European Cockpit Association. Following the crash of the plane that carried around 300 people on board, the association called on European authorities to "secure" the flights over the region, CBC News reported.

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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also told U.S. airlines to steer clear of the route. Air France and Russian airline Aeroflot also said they will avoid flying over Ukrainian airspace.

At the time of the crash, Emirates had a flight going to Kyiv from Dubai supposedly en route the path flight MH17 took. On Thursday, the luxury airline instructed the plane to go back to Dubai in the middle of its course to ensure the safety of its passengers and crew.

Emirates previously cancelled all its flights between Kyiv and Dubai beginning August 1 because of "political uncertainty" in Ukraine which resulted in lower demand. The firm's U.S. and European flights are not affected by the situation because they use a different route.

Based on notices posted on the FAA website in April, the agency warned U.S. pilots against flying over some areas of Ukraine and Crime. As of Thursday, the FAA had no update or additional instructions for North American pilots to stay away from the region where Flight MH17 went down.

The political turmoil in the Ukrainian region shook the peace of stock markets, causing the Russian ruble's value to lose nearly two percent against the U.S. dollar. This was Russia's worst single-day performance in over one year.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Airlines is still trying to bounce back from the financial damage that the disappearance of Flight 370 in March caused. The said aircraft was on its way to Beijing when it steered away from its course. Authorities believe the plane crashed somewhere in the Indian Ocean beyond the western coast of Australia.

TagsMalaysia Airline, Flight MH17, malaysia plane, Ukraine, plane shot down